At
this moment there came along the street an ox-drawn wagon, on which lay
the marble statue of a deity; Leander stepped up to it, examined the
marble, spoke with the men who were conveying it, and returned to
Marcian with a shake of the head.

'It pains me to see such carven beauty burnt to lime. And yet how many
thousands of her worshippers are now burning in Gehenna. Lord Marcian,'
he resumed, 'you have spoken earnestly and well, and have given me good
proof of your sincerity. I think with you, and willingly would work
with you.'

'Reverend, does no opportunity present itself?'

'In this moment, none that I can see,' was the suave answer.

'Yet I perceive that you have made some offer of service to the King.'

'It is true; and perchance you shall hear more of it. Be not impatient;
great things are not hastily achieved.'

With sundry other such remarks, so uttered that their triteness seemed
to become the maturity of wisdom, Leander brought the colloquy to an
end. It was his principle to trust no man unless he were assured of a
motive strong enough to make him trustworthy, and that motive he had
not yet discovered in Marcian. Nor, indeed, was he entirely sure of
himself; for though he had gone so far as to communicate with the
Gothic king, it was only in view of possibilities whose issue he still
awaited. If the Pope set forth for Constantinople, he would leave as
representative in Rome the deacon Pelagius, and from this brother
cleric Leander had already received certain glances, which were not to
be misunderstood. The moment might shortly come when he would need a
friend more powerful than any he had within the city.

But Vigilius lingered, and Leander, save in his influence with the
irresolute Pontiff, postponed the step he had in view.

CHAPTER XVIII

PELAGIUS

Rome waited. It had been thought that the fall of Neapolis would be
followed by Totila's swift march along the Appian Way; but three months
had passed, and the Gothic king was but little nearer to the city. He
seemed resolved to leave nothing behind him that had not yielded to his
arms; slowly and surely his rule was being established over all the
South. Through the heats of summer, with pestilence still lurking in
her palaces and her dens, no fountain plashing where the sun blazed on
Forum and on street, Rome waited.

In June Bessas was joined by another of the Greek commanders, Joannes,
famed for his ferocity, and nicknamed the Devou